Mom's Sit Sandwich (Aka Squishy Sorta Muffuletta)

Julesong's Note:

From my Family Recipe Box, Mom loves this sandwich! "This sandwich is a 'smashing success'... in more ways than one. It's a great traveler." You must admit, it is pretty amusing. :) From the Family Recipe Box, dated 3/1/85. The sandwich keeps well, chilled, and is good for taking along on picnics and camping trips.

• Total Time: 2 hrs
• Prep Time: 2 hrs
• Cook Time: 0 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 6

• 1 large round loaf French bread (or oval "peasant" loaf, or sourdough)
• 1 (6 1/2 ounce) jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained, liquid reserved (you can use the hearts whole or roughly chopped)
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 3 large ripe tomatoes, sliced
• 3 ounces thinly sliced salami
• 1/2 lb thinly sliced unsmoked turkey breast
• 1/4 lb cheese slice, any kind (provolone and fresh mozzarella are my faves)
• 1 (2 1/2 ounce) can sliced ripe black olives, drained
• 1 purple onion, thinly sliced (amount to taste)

Directions:

1. Cut loaf of bread in half horizontally and hollow out the soft bread from both halves, leaving a shell about 3/4-inch thick.
2. Reserve soft bread for another use.
3. In small bowl, combine artichoke liquid with mayonnaise and spread onto bread shells.
4. In bottom half, layer ingredients at least three times until mounded high, beginning and ending with tomatoes.
5. Place top half of bread over mound of ingredients.
6. Wrap entire loaf tightly with plastic wrap.
7. This must be assembled at least 2 hours before serving, but can be assembled up to 8 hours before serving.
8. Refrigerate.
9. Before serving, place sandwich (wrapped in plastic) on a hard surface and SIT ON IT! This smashes the ingredients together and makes it easier to serve. Do not omit this step, strange as it seems, as this step is what makes the sandwich delicious.
10. Slice the loaf into wedges or slices to serve.
11. Note: I usually roughly chop the artichoke hearts, myself. Also, regarding the artichoke juice mixture: you can add only half of it to the mayo, if you like - how much of the spread you're going to need depends on the size of loaf you've gotten.
12. Note #2: other good additions I've made to the sandwich include strips of roasted red and yellow pepper, whole fresh basil leaves (placed on top of the tomatoes) or pesto into the mayo, pepperoncini and/or sliced sweet red cherry peppers, pancetta, and more salami or other hard sausage than the recipe calls for.
13. Note #3: any leftover mayo mixture, by the way, makes a great salad dressing! I once accidentally used the juice from a jar larger than the recipe called for and the mixture was far more than I needed -- so to thicken it up a bit I added a bit of lowfat sour cream, and made the leftover mixture (much to my husband's delight) available as salad dressing. Yum!

Reviews

[Grammabobbie]

Wow! This was the bomb! Made one for supper, and the rest for dh lunch tomorrow. I added leaf lettuce also, the only other thing I might add would be dill slices. This is an outstanding recipe!

[Donna Matthews]

I made this sandwich for a picnic at the Hollywood Bowl when kids and grandkids were in town. Used an artisan french bread that did not need to be hollowed out and made different versions for kids and adults. Also used plenty of various nitrate free meats (roasted turkey breast, Black Forest ham, roast beef, turkey pastrami and pepperoni), so probably used more meat than the recipe amounts. The kids especially enjoyed watching Grandma sitting on their dinner and we all thought the sandwiches were first rate!

[kadusey]

My husband says this is the best sandwich he has ever had, homemade or from a restaurant. The mayo/artichoke sauce is amazing. I think the sandwich works best with a very crusty loaf, as otherwise the chill time can result in it being a bit soggy (still delicious, just difficult to eat).